March Madness: Tigers ready for 'big stage'

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Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics

SALE LAKE CITY – During Auburn's 40-minute practice Wednesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, the Tigers gave fans and media in Utah a taste of what to expect in Thursday's NCAA Tournament matchup with New Mexico State.

Pushing the pace and knocking down 3s, the same script that led Auburn to the SEC Tournament championship.

"We're going to play hard, we're going to play fast, we're going to do what it takes to win," point guard Jared Harper said. "We're going to do everything we can do to push the tempo, force turnovers and use that to create our offense."

The Tigers (26-9), the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional, bring an eight-game win streak into March Madness. The Aggies (30-4), the No. 12 seed, have won 19 straight.

"I don't think anybody's coming in too confident," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "I don't think they're coming in too confident, and we certainly aren't. The challenge is going to be, for us, their quickness. For them, I think the fact that we're a little bigger and we're a little quicker than what they've seen in the WAC.

"They're the most talented team in their league. They're the best-coached team in their league and they're waiting for this day. You could say we had an SEC Tournament, we had to play Missouri, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee and maybe we're tired emotionally because of all that we expended. I don't think so. It's the NCAA Tournament. It's what we work all year long for, so I don't feel that way."

A year ago, the Tigers reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This time, Auburn is deeper and healthier, relying on a 10-player rotation to claim the conference crown.

"It gives us a lot of confidence being 10 deep," Harper said. "The fact that we're playing our best basketball right now, and we're doing a lot of good things, so I know we'll be ready."

Last year's second-round departure still motivates the Tigers, part of Auburn's unfinished business mantra.

"We still feel like we're the underdog, even though everyone's saying we're one of the hottest teams in the country," said junior Samir Doughty. "We're going to play every game like we're the underdogs and we're going to work like we're the underdogs.

"When we won the SEC Championship, Coach [said], 'I want bigger fish than just the SEC Championship.' Everybody in here feels the same way. We're not satisfied with just that one championship. We want to win the national championship. We want to keep advancing."

With college basketball fans across the country tuning in for Thursday's 12:30 p.m. CT meeting on TNT, emerging star Chuma Okeke wants to put on a show.

"It's a big opportunity," said Okeke, Auburn's leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer. "Not every team, not everybody gets to be on a big stage like this. It's a real blessing to be here. We want to take advantage of it."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer